The invention concerns an epicyclic distributor gear-box for driving two vehicle axles of a motor vehicle.
In a known distributor gear-box of this type, shown in DE-OS 3,212,495, the concentric main shaft emerges from the distributor gear-box casing through a casing opening pointing, in the direction of the main axis of the distributor gear-box, towards the speed change gear-box fitted upstream in the force flow direction. The spring means, which acts in the disengagement direction, and the axial pressure piston, which engages the lock-up plate clutch and is located eccentric to the gear-box main axis, is accommodated on the side of the lock-up plate clutch opposite to the epicyclic gear. In this known distributor gear-box, the plate carrier holding the outer plates is connected to the planet carrier and the plate carrier holding the inner plates is connected to the coaxial main shaft connected to the internal toothed wheel of the epicyclic gear.
The objective of the invention is to design the lock-up plate clutch in a distributor gear-box as a structural unit which can be pre-assembled while avoiding emergence of the concentric main shaft, from which the drive of one vehicle axle takes place, at a gear-box casing opening on the side facing the speed change gear-box.
One advantage, among others, in the distributor gear-box according to the invention is that the concentric main shaft, together with the inner plate carrier, all the plates and the abutment for the plates can be pre-assembled and adjusted along with the plate spring and its associate abutment.
Another advantage of the distributor gear-box according to the invention is that the concentric main shaft is located in the central part of the gear-box casing.
Yet another advantage of the distributor gear-box according to the invention is that a compact structural shape is achieved in both the axial and radial directions.
These and other objects are attained by providing a first plate carrier of the lock-up plate clutch having the abutment which actually supports all the plates immovably fastened by releasable fasteners to the concentric main shaft, which is connected to the sun gear of the epicyclic gear-box and providing an axial passage in the first plate carrier through which a clutch disengagement means passes. A spring maintains the lock-up clutch in its engaged end position and is located on the sun gear side of the first plate carrier. The axial pressure piston which opposes the spring is centrically located relative to the main axis of the gear-box and is on the other side of the first plate carrier. A second abutment supports the spring and is immovably mounted to the first carrier. The spring being a spring plate has its radially inner edge supported on the concentric main shaft and it radially outer edge supported on an annular pressure plate which acts on the clutch plates. The pressure plate is irrotationally connected to the first plate carrier and the concentric main shaft. The clutch disengagement means acts on the pressure plate. A stop immovably mounted to the first plate carrier limits the disengagement of the clutch disengagement assembly. The clutch disengagement assembly includes a plurality of balls axially displaced in a guide and held in contact with the pressure plate. The axial pressure piston is connected to the balls via rolling contact thrust bearing and a setting ring centered about the gear-box main axis for actuation of the balls. The axial pressure piston is formed integrally with a pressure ring which acts on the roller contact thrust bearing. The roller contact thrust bearing is located concentrically interior to the clutch plates. The axial pressure piston is located axially near the clutch plates and is connected by a radial diaphragm to the pressure ring. A spring supported between the pressure ring and the gear-box casing holds the contact thrust bearings without clearance. The planetary carrier of the epicyclic gear-box is connected to the second plate carrier. A side disk of the planet carrier is integrally formed with the second plate carrier.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.